Camera



June 17, 1947. A. w. TONDREAU 2,422,270

CAMERA Original Filed Oct. 27, 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet l milii im ALEERTiziGA/DREAM ATTORNEY Julie 17, 1947.-

A. w. TONDREAU 2,422,270

CAMERA Original Filed Oct. 27, 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 ALBERT W YZJNDREAU,

INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY June 17, 1947. A. w. TONDREAU 2,422,270

CAMERA Original Filed Oct. 27, 1944 s Sheeis-Sheet :s

ALBERT 4 75N0REAU mmvron.

ATTOR NY June 17, 1947. A. w. TONDREAU 2,422,270

CAMERA Original Filed Oct. 27, 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 A'LBERT WYZJNDREAU,

INVENTOR. v

ATTORNEY June 17, 1947. A, w, TQNDREAU 2,422,270

CAMERA Original Filed Oct: 27, 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 3v --n n- "DE A; aSW n 3 cu l ALBERT W ZEDNDREAO;

Y INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented June 17, 1947 CAMERA Albert W. Tondreau, North Hollywood,Calif., as-

signor to Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation ofDelaware original application October 27, 1944, Serial No. 560,546.Divided and this application April 27, 1945, Serial No. 590,544

(or. ss 1s.4)

5 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to a camera for color photography and inparticular relates to an improvement in the camera disclosed and claimedin Patent No. 2,353,797, issued to me July 18, 1944.

One of the objects ofthe present invention is to facilitate threadingthe bi-pack and one of the films thereof through the two gates toinitially position the films in the gates so that the pull-downmechanisms and the register pin mechanisms will engage the sprocketholes in the films, and in particular to so locate the film which is tohave two color records thereon, that the alternate frames left unexposedat one gate will be exposed at the other gate.

In the above patent a free loop of film was arranged between one of thefeed 'sprockets and the common sprocket, by reason of the fact that twofilms were fed into the camera each on a separate feed sprocket and oneof the films on the trailing side of the feed sprocket was given a loopin order to overlap it with the other film to form a bi-pack on thecommon sprocket. It has been found that the presence of this free loopis objectionable as the film slaps the side of the camera casing and islikely to be scratched. An object of the invention is to transfertwofilms from aside-by-side' relation without using a free loop. This isaccomplished by employing a spiral film guide which leads one of thefilms from its feed sprocket into bi-pack relation with the other filmat the common sprocket. v

Also, in the above patent, a free double loop was proposed in the backfilm of the bi-pack at a point between the two film gates at the pointwhere the bi-pack, after being exposed at one gate. was separated sothat the back film thereof could be passed through the other gate, thefront film being led directly to the common sprocket. The presence ofthis free loop is also objectionable for reasons similar to thosepointed out above. Anotherbbject of the invention is to avoid the use ofa free loop between the film gates, and this is accomplished by a filmguide which separates the bi-pack after exposure at the bi-pack gate,the film guide serving to guide one of the films to the other gate forfurther exposure and to guide the other film to a common sprocket. Thefilm guide also performs the function of providing a film path of fixedlength between the two gates to thereby facilitate proper location inthe gates of the film bearing two color records.

The above patent also proposed to employ a through both gates, at theleading side of the ject of the present invention is to avoid it. Thisis accomplished by providing a take-up sprocket at the exit side of thesecond gate with a smaller loop between that sprocket and the secondgate,

and with a tight film path between that sprocket and the commonsprocket.

As the above patent employed a single common sprocket on which bothfilmswere fed in bi-pack relation to the gates and also from the gates,it being desirable to store the exposed films in separate film cans, theabove patent proposed to transfer the bi-pack film from the exit side ofthe common sprocket to two takeup sprockets by separating one filmlaterally from the other by the use of a free loop. This free loop isalso objectionable for reasons pointed out above, and an object of theinvention is to avoid its use. This ,has been accomplished according tothe present invention by mploying a double common sprocket having twosprockets slde-by-side by using one of these sprockets to traverse thebi-pack to the gates, while obtaining a side-by-side relation of thefilms on the take-up side of the common sprocket by leading the filmfrom the gates separately to each of these two sprockets, whereby atight film path may be obtained from the double sprockets of the doublecommon sprocket to the take-up sprockets without the use of a looptherebetween.

For further details of the invention, reference may be made to thedrawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a view in vertical elevation of the improved camera of thepresent invention, with the door of the camera removed and with certainparts of the camera wall broken away;

Fig. 2 is, an enlarged vertical sectional view of the camera of Fig. lwith the vertical register pin in a different operating position andwith certain parts of the camera broken away.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view partly in section, of a spiral filmguide according to the present invention. I v Fig. 4: is a longitudinalcross-sectional view of the film guide of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the double common sprocket, thesection having been taken on line 55 of Fig. 1 looking in the directionof the arrows.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged view in elevation clone of the film engagindevices provided according to the present invention to assist inproperly rather long free loop of the film which passes locating thefilm in the gates.

Fig. 7 is a view in elevation, partly in section, of the device of Fig.6 with parts in a difierent operating position.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view on line 83 of Fig. 6, looking in thedirection of the arrows.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged view of the film guide according to the presentinvention, for separating the bi-pack into separate films.

Fig. 10 is a sectional view on line Ill-l of Fig. 9, looking in thedirection of the arrows.

Fig, 11 is an enlarged sectional view on line lIH of Fig. 1, looking inthe direction of the arrows.

Referring in detail to the drawings, as in the above patent, and asshown in Figs. 1 and 11, two unexposed negative films I and 2 are fedinto the camera along parallel path from a removable film can, the baseof which is indicated at 3 in Fig. 1. The films l and 2 are led overaligned feed sprockets 4 and 5, respectively, then through the cameramechanism and after exposure are led out from the camera over twoaligned feed sprockets 6 and 1 to take-up reels not shown.

As in the above patent, the films l and 2 are traversed across theirrespective gates two frames at a time, to expose film l which forms theback film of the bi-pack with two color records, with a third colorrecord on the other film 2.

Generally speaking, the improvements according to the present inventionrelate to the film traversing and threading means employed in the camerabetween the supply sprockets 4, and the take-up sprockets 6, 1.

The present invention discloses a number of features which are describedand claimed in the above patent and the cases referred to therein, aswell as the following copending applications filed in my name, Camerafor color photography, Serial Nos, 476,179, 476,180, and 476,181, filedFebruary 17, 1943.

The feed sprockets 4, 5 are provided with suitable guide rollers 8 and 9and with suitable pad rollers l0 and H.

In order to lead the two films l and 2 from a position parallel to eachother as shown in Fig, 11, to a bi-pack position with the emulsionsfacing each other, and without employing a free loop, the film l is ledfrom its feed sprocket 4 over a stationary and adjustable spiral guidel2. The spiral guide 12 as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, comprises a tube I3having thereon a spiral fiange l4, the distance between adjoiningconvolutions thereof being the same as the width of the film. Each sideof the spiral fiange I4 is provided with a shoulder as indicated at l5and IS, with an intermediate cutaway portion l1, to support the filmonly at its edges. The tube 13 is rigidly secured to an internal plug l8along the axis of which is a supporting rod 19 clamped in positionbetween the houlder 20 and the screw 2 I, to permit rotationaladjustment of the tube [3 on the rod 19 so as to line up the spiralguide 12 so that certain adjoining convolutions of the spiral flange l4will be in position to receive film l from'the sprocket 4 while otheradjoining convolutions will be in a position to lead the film lunderneath the film 2 onto the top of the back sprocket 22 of a doublecommon sprocket 23 as shown in Fig. 5. In other words, the sleeve I3 isrotatably adjustable about its own axis by rotating sleeve l3 and plug18 on the rod 19, and locking it in adjusted position by the screw 2 I,Also, the spiral guide l2 can have its axis angularly adjusted as rod l9terminates in a ball 24 which comprises one member of a universal jointhaving a socket 25 fixed to the plate 26 by a screw 21. A clamping plate23 held in position by a screw 28 adjustably holds the ball 24 and,hence, spiral guide 12 in its adjusted position.

From the rear common sprocket 22, the films l and 2 are led in bi-packrelation, emulsion to emulsion, through guide rollers 30 and 3| Fig. 1then in a loop indicated at 32 through suitable guide rollers 33 and 34through the bi-pack gate 35.

At the exit side of the bi-pack gate 35, the films l and 2 areseparated, the film l which is the rear film of the bi-pack passingaround an arcuate stationary film guide 36 and then passing through thesingle film gate 31. From the exit side of gate 31 the film I is led bysuitable guide rollers 33 and 33 through a loop indicated at 40, whichmay be housed in a casing extension 54, then through the take-upsprocket 4|, and without any further free loops is led through a numberof guide rollers indicated at 42, 43, 44 and 45 to the underside of therear common sprocket 22. The film guide 36 includes means laterdescribed for separating the films from their bi-pack relation and foralso leading the front film 2 of the bi-pack to the front sprocket 46(Figs. 1 and 5) of the common sprocket 23. Hence, the lower side of thesprocket 22 is individual to film l, the lower side of the sprocket 43is individual to film 2, these films extending in parallel pathsside-by-side on these sprockets and from that point these films are ledwithout further loops directly to their respective take-up sprockets 6and 1 shown in Fig. 11. It will be noted that the film l enters thecamera on the front supply sprocket 4 and leaves the camera on the reartake-up sprocket 1 while film 2 enters the camera on the rear supplysprocket 5 and leaves the camera on the front take-up sprocket 5.

All sprockets shown are provided with suitable pad rollers schematicallyindicated in the drawings and to which, generally, no reference numbershave been applied as their use is well understood and their constructionand detail forms no part of the present invention.

As indicated in Fig. 2, and as described in the above patent the camerais provided with a suitable objective lens 41, light dividing prism 48,shutter 49; also pull-down mechanism 50, and register pins 5| for thebi-pack gate 35; also pulldown mechanism 52 and register pins 53 for thesingle film gate 31.

The power drive 4 driving the various sprockets, pull-down mechanismsand register pins illustrated and described herein, may be the same asthat described in the above patent with the addition thereto of asuitable gear for driving the take-up sprocket 4|.

The film guide 36, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, 9 and 10, comprises a base 55secured to the vertical wall of the camera by a screw 56. From the base55 extends a stationary arcuate flange 51 the middle portion of which isdepressed, as indicated at 58, to support the film at its edges. Theflange 51 as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2, extends generally in a circularpath for more than a one-half circle, with the upper end 53 of thefiange in line with a guide roller 50 and with the exit 5| from the filmgate 35. The other end 62 of the fiange 51 is in line with the entrance63 to the single film gate 31. The stationary flange 51 therefore servesto guide the film I in an arcuate path, without a free loop, from gate35 to gate 31. Suitably secured to the front edge of approximately theright hand one-half of the fiange 51 as seen in Fig. 1, is the curvededged guiding plate 64, which as shown in Figs. 9 and 10 as indicated at65, extends beyond the periphery of the flange 51 in order to guide thefront edge of the film I and thereby keep it from moving to the frontoff from flange 51. The upper portion of the edge guiding flange 64 istilted forwardly as indicated at 66 and from the front of the tiltedportion 56 extends an arm 61 which overlies the leading end 68 of thespiral loop 69 which is made in the film 2.

The leading edge 68 is therefore led across the front of a more rearwardportion of the same film, and across the front of the other film I, aswell as across the leading portion of the flange 51. Due to the spiralloop 69 in the film 2, there is some rearward tension in the leadingedge 68 which tends to spring rearwardly and the rear edge of theleading portion 68 of the loop is guided and restrained by the frontface of the guide plate 64. cured to the front of the plate extension 54by welding or otherwise, and the whole film guide indicated at 36 formsa double film guide unit which may be chrome plated.

In order to position the films l and 2 in the bi-pack gate 35 so thatthe sprocket holes therein are in position to be engaged by the filmtraversing means 50, 5|, and also to position film I in both gates 35and 31 for a like reason, and also to insure that gate 31 will exposealternate film frames not exposed at the other gate 35, the inventionprovides at the entrance side of gate 35 and at the exit side of thegate 31, the manually operable film engaging devices 10 and 1|respectively, both of-which are alike, the latter being shown in detailin Figs. 6,7 and 8.

As shown in Figs. 6 to 8, the film engaging device 1| comprises a, pairof slidaible pins 12 and 13 adapted to be moved to engage the filmsprocket holes indicated at 14 and 15 in Fig. 8. Pins 12 and 13 areslidably mounted in a bracket 16 which may be secured to the wall of thecamera by screws such as 85. Mounted in the bracket 16 is an axle 11onwhich is rotatably mounted an eccentric 18 against which the pins 12and 13 are urged by springs 19 and 8!] respectively. The pins 12 and 13enter the film at right angles as indicated in Figs. 6 and 7 and as thefilm pull-down mechanisms 50 and 52 do not afford enough room to locatethe eccentric 18 in a right line through the film at the point where thepins 12 and 13 enter the film, the eccentric 18 is positioned off to oneside and the pins 12 and 13 are curved, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, 6 and 7,and as indicated at 8| in Fig. 7. Fig. 6 shows eccentric 18 moved to aposition where the pin-s 12 and 13 are retracted from the film whileFig. 7 shows the eccentric 18 moved to another position to force thepins 12 and 13 into sprocket holes against the action of their springs19 and 80.

The film locating device 10 is positioned in advance of the entrance endof gate 35 and the film locating device 1| is located beyond the exitend of gate 31, both of the devices 10 and 1| being positioned wheretheir pins such as 12 and 13 and in particular the adjacent part of thefilm is readily accessible so that the sprocket holes of the film can bereadily fitted on these pins. A fixed and desired length of the film 2is measured between the device 10 and 1| partly by reason of the factthat the flange 62 forms a film bath of fixed length between the twogates 35 and 31. In threading the eccentric 82 (Fig. 2) of the device 10is operated to insert its pins similar to 12 The arm 61 may be suitablyseand 13 in Fig. 8 and of which the front pin 83 appears in Fig. 2, intothesprocket holes of the bi-pack I,- 2. Then both films are threadedthrough the gate 35 and the double film guide 36, with the back film ofthe bi-pack firmly engaging the flange 52 and film is, of course,threaded through the gate 31 and if pulled firmly, the pins 12, 13 ofthe device 1| will engage the sprocket holes in the film As beforestated, the device 10 is so positioned in the film path that the bipackI, 2, when engaged by the pins such as 83, is in proper position in thegate 35 to be engaged by the pull-down 50 and the register'pins 5|, itbeing assumed of course, that both the claw of the pull-down 50 and theregister pins 5| are out of the film path at this time. The registerpins 5| are then manually eligagedin the sprocket holes by operating theregister pin control handle 84 as described in the above patent. Thedevice 1| is so positioned with reference to the device 10 and withreference to the length of the film path afforded by the flange 62 thanwhen the film is impaled on the pins such as 83 of the device 10 andpulled firmly in its path through gate 35 around flange 62 and throughgate, 31, the sprocket holes of film will be in a position to be engagedby the pins 12, 13 of the device 1|, and when so engaged, the film is inposition in gate 31 to be engaged by the claw of the pull-down device 52and by the register pins 53, and the film is furthermore positioned ingate 31 so that alternate frames not exposed at gate 35 will be exposedat gate 31, the two pull-downs 50 and 52 operating in syhchronism toadvance the film two frames at a time as described in the above patent.After the two films and 2 have been properly located in the gates 35 and31, and the register pins 5| and 53 released to engage the sprocketholes in the films, the eccentrics 18 and 82 are operated to retractpins such as 12 and 13 of the device 1| and the pins like 83 of thedevice 10. Whereupon the camera is ready for operation, it being assumedthat the remainder of the threading has been completed in an obviousmanner.

The pins like 12, and 13, on the device 10, and 1|, are movable into andoutof the normal running path of the film. The guide rollers 33, .and34, are on opposite sides of that path and the device 10,- has its pinslike 12, and 13, adjacent those rollers, whereby those rollers supportthe film and permit the pins like 12, and 13, to be stripped from thefilm when the device 10, is moved to idle position. For the same reason,the pins 12, and 13, of the device 1|, are arranged close to the guiderollers 38, and 39, which lie on opposite sides of the film path andsupport the film when stripping the pins 12, and 13, therefrom onmovement of the device 1|, to idle position.

This application is a division of Serial No. 560,546, filed October 27,1944, for Camera.

It will be apparent that various modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit of the following claims.

I claim:

1. An adjunctive device to assist in threading the film so that thesprocket holes therein will be in a position to be engaged by the filmtraversing means of a film gate, said device comprising a removable pinengageable with the sprocket holes in the film at a point in the filmrunning path beyond the gate where the sprocket holes can be inspectedand manipulated to engage the pin thereon, means supporting said pin formovement into and out of said path said pin being movable to a positionin the film path so that when the sprocket hole in the film is engagedtherewith, that portion of the film in the gate will have its sprocketholes in proper position to be engaged by the film traversing means.

2. Means for registering two films with each other to form a bi-pack andto locate said films in position to be engaged by the film traversingmeans of a film gate, said registering means comprising a manuallyoperable pin beyond said gate temporarily engageable with the sprocketholes in both films and so positioned in the film running path that whenthe films are engaged therewith, they are located in the film gate inposition to be engaged by the film traversing means, spring means forwithdrawing said pin, and manual means to overcome or release saidspring.

3. In a camera having two film gates with means for traversing the samefilm through both gates two frames at a time, a manually operable stoppin at the leading side of one of said gates and another stop pin at thetrailing side of the other gate, film supporting means between saidgates providing a film path of fixed length from one of said gates tothe other gate, said pins being engageable with the film sprocket holesand being movable into the film path at points such that when engaged inthe sprocket holes of the film, with the film threaded through saidgate; and on said supporting means, the film is in positlon in saidgates to be engaged by the film traversing means therefor, and is alsoin position to have exposed at one gate alternate film frames notexposed at the other gate.

4. In a camera having two film gates with means for traversing the samefilm through both gates, a manually operable stop pin at the leadingside of one of said gates and another manually operable stop pine at thetrailing side of the other gate, film supporting means between saidgates providing a film path of fixed length from one of said gates tothe other gate, said pins being engageable with the film sprocket holesand being movable into the film path at points such that when engaged inthe sprocket holes of the film, with the film threaded through saidgates and on said supporting means, the film is in position in saidgates to be engaged by the film traversing means therefor.

5. An adjunctive device according to claim 1, comprising opposed filmrollers defining said path adjacent said pin. i

ALBERT W. TONDREAU.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Fear Jan. 12, 1932 Fear Mar. 22, 1932 Fear Apr.14, 1936

